TVA in Tennessee

Energy Sales

In fiscal year 2014, TVA sold more than 95 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to 61 municipal and 22 cooperatively owned utilities that distribute power in Tennessee.

The local power companies provided almost 42 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to more than 2.7 million Tennessee households in 2014.

Local power companies’ sales to almost 450,000 commercial and industrial customers totaled 48.5 billion kilowatt-hours. In addition, these local power companies in Tennessee sold more than 1.1 billion kilowatt-hours to outdoor lighting customers.

Tennessee is home to 23 directly served customers of TVA that purchased over 6.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.

TVA power revenues in Tennessee in fiscal year 2014 totaled more than $7.2 billion, or about 66 percent of all TVA operating revenue.

Service Area

TVA serves virtually all of the 95 counties in Tennessee.

The TVA service area in Tennessee covers about 42,038 square miles, about 49 percent of TVA’s territory and 99.7 percent of Tennessee. This includes an electricity service area of 41,397 square miles and a watershed management area of 22,514 square miles.

Power Generation and Transmission

In Tennessee, TVA operates 19 hydroelectric dams, six coal-fired power plants, two nuclear power plants, seven combustion turbine sites and a pumped-storage plant, with a combined generating capacity of more than 19,655 megawatts.

TVA owns or maintains 261 substations and switchyards and 9,483 miles of transmission line in Tennessee.

TVA operates ten solar facilities in Tennessee: a 35-kilowatt facility at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville; two 10-kilowatt facilities at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge; a 17-kilowatt facility at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville; a 10-kilowatt facility at Cocke County High School in Newport; a 17-kilowatt facility at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge; an 8‑kilowatt facility at Morgan County Vocational School in Wartburg; a 97-kilowatt facility at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, a 19-kilowatt facility at Gibson County High School in Dyer, and a 32-kilowatt facility at the Bridges Center in Memphis.

Methane gas – a source of renewable energy – from the city of Memphis’ wastewater treatment plant is burned with coal at TVA’s Allen Fossil Plant, adding 8 megawatts of generating capacity.

TVA is completing construction of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2, in Spring City. This second reactor will add more than 1,100 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity when it comes online. It will be the nation’s first new nuclear generation of the 21st Century.

Land and Water Stewardship

TVA manages 33 reservoirs in Tennessee: Boone, Cherokee, Chickamauga, Douglas, Fort Loudoun, Fort Patrick Henry, Great Falls, Melton Hill, Nickajack, Nolichucky, Normandy, Norris, Ocoee 1, Ocoee 2, Ocoee 3, Raccoon Mountain, South Holston, Tellico, Tims Ford, Watauga, Watts Bar and Wilbur along with eight small reservoirs in the Beech River watershed in West Tennessee and portions of Kentucky, Pickwick and Guntersville reservoirs. The reservoirs have a combined surface area of about 300,000 acres and about 7,000 miles of shoreline.

TVA manages recreational, natural and cultural resources on more than 170,000 acres of public land around these reservoirs and partners with state, local and regional stakeholders to improve water quality, shoreline conditions, recreation and biodiversity.

The TVA visitor center at Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant and Laurel Point welcomed more than 13,000 visitors in 2014 and is TVA’s largest hydroelectric facility. The Norris Dam Visitor Center overlooking the powerhouse, Norris Reservoir and a marina received 9,000 visitors in 2014.

Tennessee residents enjoy camping, fishing, boating, swimming and other recreational opportunities provided by the reservoirs, as well as economic benefits of recreation and tourism. TVA’s six campgrounds in Tennessee recorded 51,178 overnight stays in 2014. TVA also maintains 38 day-use recreation areas and 45 stream access sites.

River Management

TVA maintains the structural, seismic and hydraulic integrity of 19 hydroelectric dams, 11 non-power dams, two small overflow detention dams at John Sevier Fossil Plant on the Holston River and Doakes Creek on Norris Reservoir, and one pumped-storage plant near Chattanooga.

TVA manages flows to support thermal compliance at our coal-fired and nuclear plants.

TVA owns seven locks in Tennessee (six main locks and one auxiliary lock), serving about 110 Tennessee ports and terminals. About 18 million tons of cargo move through the facilities annually.

TVA operates the dams and reservoirs in Tennessee as part of an integrated multi-purpose reservoir system to provide numerous stakeholders a variety of benefits which can include: navigation, flood risk reduction, low-cost hydropower, water supply, water quality, and recreational opportunities. At Chattanooga, which is prone to flooding because of its location just above where the Tennessee River flows through the narrow passes of the Cumberland Mountains, operation of TVA’s flood-control system has helped prevent about $4.9 billion in flood damage since its construction.

About 93 municipalities, 32 industries and seven mining companies in Tennessee draw water from the Tennessee River system. Water also is drawn for power plant cooling and irrigation.

TVA schedules releases of water from the Apalachia, Norris, Ocoee 1, Ocoee 2, Ocoee 3, Tims Ford and Watauga/Wilbur dams to support tailwater recreation in Tennessee.

Other TVA Operations

TVA’s recently built Lagoon Creek Combined Cycle Plant, which occupies 181 acres in the midst of Tennessee farm country, is expected to help TVA meet the rapidly growing summertime peak demands for power with its generating capacity of 550 megawatts.

TVA, local, state and federal agencies continue to work on recovery and clean-up of a release of ash at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant in East Tennessee.

Tennessee households had over 30.4 million kilowatt-hours of energy efficiency savings resulting from 16,409 In-Home Energy Evaluations by TVA-certified evaluators and approximately 7,674 do-it-yourself home energy evaluations taken online or by paper survey.

Personnel

There are 7,753 TVA employees who live in Tennessee.

Tennessee is home to over 14,200 TVA retirees and their families.

Tax Equivalent Payments

TVA paid $334.9 million in lieu of taxes to Tennessee in 2014, based on power sales and power property values in the state.

Economic Development

TVA works with local power companies, directly served customers, and regional, state and community organizations to create economic development opportunities for the TVA region. Economic development focuses on attracting and retaining jobs, capital investment, and serving and supporting communities to prepare for economic growth. During fiscal year 2014, over 43,800 jobs were created or retained in Tennessee and more than $5.87 billion was invested.

TVA Suppliers

In fiscal year 2014, TVA purchased over $141 million in nonfuel materials and services from Tennessee vendors.